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Wireless-AC 9xxx Series only compatible with Z370 Chipset

NBölt
Beginner
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I just bought a Intel Wireless-AC 9260NGW to replace the 3165NGW part that sometimes causes kernel panics (in iwlwifi) for me.

As you might expect from such a new part, it did not work at all (did not show up as a device). The seller (a company that also "mobile integrates" laptops, ) confirmed to me multiple times that only the Intel Z370 Chipset is supported by the newer Intel Wireless-AC products, which they have verified.

The CPU in question is an Intel Celeron N3450 (in a ZOTAC ZBOX CI327).

Is it true that your newer M.2 (NOT CNVio) wireless chips are locked to specific Intel chipsets, and if so, why is that not documented in the product specifications?

Both products are specified as having an "PCIe, USB, M.2 2230" interface.

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idata
Employee
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Hello nboelter,

I'm not aware of any such limitation having been placed on our wireless adapters. However, I will look into your question and confirm my response.

On the available documentation, the requirements listed are:

- Motherboard with available M.2 connector routed for wireless (Key E or A).

 

- Windows® 10 x64, or Linux* Kernel 4.14+ for driver support.

 

- Wi-Fi interface is PCIe*, Bluetooth® interface is USB.

The Intel® Wireless 9000 Series adapters are supported on Linux* starting on Kernel 4.14 and above. This should be your main limitation to consider.

If you're already on a distribution using the supported kernel, you may need to make sure that your firmware is up to date by running:

# cp iwlwifi-*.ucode /lib/firmware

More information:

- https://wireless.wiki.kernel.org/en/users/Drivers/iwlwifi Iwlwifi Community Page

 

- https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000005511/network-and-i-o/wireless-networking.html Linux* Support for Intel® Wireless Adapters

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
NBölt
Beginner
631 Views

Thank you for your quick and professional response, that already gives me some peace of mind that i didn't overlook anything obvious. I'm very interested if you can verify your response.

I have tested it with different kernel versions between 4.14 (debian stretch-backports) and 4.16.5 (arch linux) and /lib/firmware/iwlwifi-9260-th-b0-jf-b0-34.ucode present, but i think it's not actually a kernel/driver support issue since the device is not showing up in lspci at all – there are probably no device drivers needed to enumerate PCIe devices.

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idata
Employee
631 Views

Hello nboelter,

 

 

I was not able to locate any information detailing a minimum chipset requirement for the Intel® Wireless 9000 Series adapters. However, it's important to keep in mind that ultimately when it comes to OEM systems builds, the manufacturer has the last say on what-is and what-isn't supported on their platform.

 

 

These restrictions may not apply to custom desktop builds.

 

 

Best regards,

 

Carlos A.
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